CPD investigates crash with joyriding teens taken to the hospital
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A group of young teenagers is recovering after Chicago police said they crashed this stolen car into a fire hydrant.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reports from Englewood where the teens crashed overnight. The kids were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
They are 13 and 14-year-olds that were found in the stolen vehicle. Chicago police said no adults were inside. CBS 2 spoke with an Englewood youth organization that specifically works with teens to keep them from getting into trouble like this.
The stolen Chevy sedan hit a fire hydrant around 3:15 Tuesday morning. Police said the driver was speeding. It happened in the 6900 block of South Lowe.
CBS 2 was on the scene when the major accident investigation unit arrived. Police said two 13-year-olds and three 14-year-olds were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
Inside the car, there were four girls and one boy. It's unclear when or from where the Chevy sedan was stolen. Investigators found a gun at the scene.
CBS 2 reported on dozens of groups dedicated to keeping kids out of trouble. Englewood First Responders is a program dedicated to keeping kids busy outdoor activities, such as landscaping.
Sixteen-year-old Saute Brown has been in the program for the past two years. She said it saddens her to see kids her age go down a violent path.
"I'm just really scared for them. More and more kids are becoming a part of violence because they see a lot of other kids doing it. And it's just, follow the leader," Brown said. "And I feel like they're a victim of that because this is all they see, violence."
The founder of the organization said he works with a lot of kids who don't have support at home. Without that parental advisory, he said it leads them down the wrong path.